Gun laws and mass killings in Norway

To the editor:

It's simple to see how one maniac shooter in Norway could kill about 80 innocent people. In Norway, like most other European countries, it's almost impossible for a person to get a license to purchase a handgun and absolutely no -- repeat, no -- permits to allow any citizen to carry concealed are issued. So no one could protect himself.

I'm grateful that I live in Nevada where I, like many other law-abiding citizens, can carry concealed. I have some concern when I enter a post office or a county or state building with my gun left in my car. Public buildings with "No Gun Allowed" signs displayed and schools are some "unsafe" places where another attack could easily occur.

God forbid that America has a Norway-type massacre. But if we do, my guess would be that it takes place in Illinois or Wisconsin. They are the last two states without any concealed weapon permits. Perhaps an attack could take place in New York or California where it's almost impossible to get one.

To my fellow Nevadans who refuse to own a gun: Feel a little safer while walking through a dark parking lot because in Nevada the would-be muggers don't know who carries his own protection.

MARTY BILLICH

LAS VEGAS

Moral relevance

To the editor:

One painful question we need to ask ourselves as we try to come to grips with the horrible massacre in Norway: Is Anders Breivik's action fundamentally different from what our country has done in Iraq and is continuing to do in Afghanistan and Libya?

Breivik sees a perceived threat to his country and concludes that the solution is to kill. We see perceived threats to our country and conclude that the solution is killing.

An even more painful, almost unspeakable, question: Did Breivik learn this tragic lesson from us?

When will we learn from Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Dorothy Day and the Dalai Lama and Jesus that their is another way?

PETER EDIGER

LAS VEGAS

Do better

To the editor:

We hear example after example of folks saying, "I paid into Social Security and Medicare for years. It's my money."

This is true, of course. But if you do the math, you will find that what we receive in payments and benefits over time is so much more than we ever put in. Unbelievable? Just one CAT scan or colonoscopy would equal more than what a normal worker would put into Medicare in a year.

Social Security deductions were supposed to be held or invested so as to be available when needed for supplementing retirement. But these monies were not held, saved or invested for the last many years. Instead, they were spent by Congress to finance "earmarks" and special projects designed to get the sponsoring politician re-elected. What is left is a pile of IOUs -- backed, of course, by the full faith and finances of the U.S. Treasury. Which, if you haven't noticed, is also empty.

Rather than get mad about this situation, remember, elections have consequences. How about voting out the foxes guarding the henhouse? I know we can do better.

JEANNE CRAYTON

OVERTON